In Ten Years
by mynameissirius
Summary: Look at Weiss ten years after the fall of Esset through the eyes of Kudou Youji. Fluffy YoujixOmi


In Ten Years...  
  
By Rain Ayo  
  
"Honey I'm home!"  
  
I never ever thought I'd say that, and I still think its really funny. It fits though. I'm coming home from a long day of work back to my "honey." Its not always me that says it, or those exact words, but the result is the same. Whoever was in the apartment comes out and offers a welcome home kiss or hug. I like how that is for us.   
  
Would you believe its been ten years? I'm 33 years old. I feel so old sometimes. For a man who was once an assassin, that is very old. After the whole falling into the sea thing and the dissappearance of Schwartz, we were told to go on a vacation. It didn't take us long to pack up and head out. This was something we all had been waiting for, for such a long time. Omi and I roamed the country for a blissful four weeks. We were able to actually enjoy the place we had fought so hard to protect.   
  
After the month passed, we got the call back from Kritiker. This time we were all to be reassigned. I guess they thought we'd be better off doing other jobs. Ran took over the behind the shadows director of the Weiss replacement team. Ken spent most of his time training new Kritiker employees. Omi now ran the entire Kritiker network, working to gather information and keep it all from getting out. As for me, I went back to do what I do best, investigating. Can't get the info through the computer? Then you send in me to go and get all the evidence that you need. Ken and I are pretty much the only two that ever see action any more. I'm just glad to see that Omi doesn't have to kill anymore.  
  
Omi's head popped out of the office doorway and he laughed softly when he finally spotted me. He made his way over to me, as I slipped off my shoes and put my jacket in the closet by the door. "Why do you say that every day?" he asked me after planting a loving kiss to my cheek.  
  
"So that you don't forget to come out here and give me my welcome home kiss," I said. The simple act of coming home and recieving a kiss from the one I loved in a small greeting, proved to content me like few things could. With Omi there was never anything that I wanted to do more then to kiss him and enjoy the peace of a moment that we share. That was what I did then, as I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned down to kiss him senseless.  
  
Even after all these years, he would still surface with a soft blush hitting his cheeks. He would smile at me and sigh that sigh that said, "I'm not getting any work done like this, but I love you anyway." Then I would let him go and he'd return to his office to continue to work more. He'd remain there until I called him to let him know when dinner was finally ready. It was always microwavable, frozen food, or take out. The only cooking I could do was boiling the water for tea. And Omi spent most of his time behind his computer, rather then behind a stove.  
  
Omi turned to go back into the office, calling over his shoulder, "Don't forget that Ken-kun and Ran-kun invited us over for dinner tonight." That was always a good thing. Between the four of us, only one of us had ever been allowed to use the Koneko's kitchen, and that had been Ran. So eating with Ken and Ran usually means real food, which is always a good change. Ran knows this and that's probably why he invites us over all the time.  
  
So I slipped into our bedroom and slipped into something more comfortable. My fashion sense hasn't changed any in ten years. I slipped on my favorite pair of skin tight jeans, and a sleeveless form fitting turtleneck. Over that went an open white button down shirt. Once I had inspected myself in the mirror, to ensure myself I was still damn good looking for a 33 year old, I slipped into the office to check and see what time we were supposed to be heading out.   
  
I slipped up behind him, arms draped across his shoulders. By the looks of the screen, he was doing something very complicated, very fast. "We're supposed to be there at six o'clock. Which means we'll have to leave here at quarter of," Omi said not taking his eyes off the screen. When he can anticipate what I want to ask before I ask it, that usually means he's busy and I'd be better off just doing something else for a while. I smile and plant a kiss on his temple lightly before heading out to the living room. An hour to kill, meant vegging in front of the television for me.  
  
My living room is my favorite room. No its not the bedroom, even though that does have a great deal of wonderful advantages. The living room of our apartment is my favorite. Manx helped me put it together years ago. She's really quite the decorator, and knew exactly what'd I'd want and need before I even asked. Of course it had taken her a few minutes to realize that I wasn't joking around when I asked her to help me with it. The apartment was supposed to be a surprise. And it was a good one too, a birthday present for Omi on his 18th birthday.   
  
Well the living room is pretty simple. A sofa, a love seat, a coffee table, and a fairly large entertainment center. The chairs were large and they were so comfortable that you could just about sink into them. A simple beige color, they gave the room such a homey feel. I always sprawled out on the sofa, propping myself up against one of the arms with a few pillows that rested on both the sofa and the love seat. So once settled there with remote in hand, I was set for the hour wait before we'd have to leave.  
  
The curse of comfort is that sometimes you just let yourself be comfortable enough to just fall asleep. Omi was forever waking me up from my spot on my favorite sofa. Usually to drag me back to our bed. I never complain. I'd much rather be in bed most comfortably with him then all alone on the sofa. Its just so hard not to fall asleep on something that comfortable and that inviting.  
  
I hardly noticed that I'd indeed fallen asleep, until I felt that familiar weight settling over me and the light kisses litering my face. I opened my eyes to smile into the deepest blue. "Time to go already?" I asked.   
  
Omi laughed and poked my side. "You are getting soft ai. You fall asleep as much as a grandpa," he teased.   
  
I stuck my tongue out at him and scruntched my nose. "Hardly. Blame it on this couch," I said.  
  
"And you've been saying that for years. I'm starting to wonder," Omi said, resting his chin on his hand.   
  
"And I'm sure you'd get it if you tried it, but you like your desk chair so much better," I said tapping his nose.   
  
Omi scruntched his own nose and stuck his tongue out at me. It was a familiar banter. He wasn't bothered by how I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. I didn't mind that he was always busy working on the computer I had set up for him when we first got the apartment. We always met somewhere in the middle, no matter where we were coming from to get there.  
  
"Come on," he said, sliding off of me and standing up. He offered me a hand. "We're going to be late. Ran'll kick us out the door if we don't get there on time."  
  
Naw. Ran wasn't that bad, but it was still amusing to tell him that he was still like the stick-up-his-ass Fujimya Aya that we'd first known. He wasn't even close to being big, bad and scary, unless you saw him work. He was still very serious about his work and most definately efficient. He was good at his job, so you couldn't fault his methods.  
  
To get to Ken and Ran's place you had to go about a twenty minute drive from most of civillization. They lived in a renovated Shinto temple. It's really an impressive place. There was enough space, so that the two of them could continue to train. Ran always said it was for when there would be a need for him as an assassin once again. Of course there was also plenty of room for...  
  
"OJI-SAN!!!! OMI-KUN!!!!"  
  
The kids. "Damnit why do I have to be the uncle. I am not old enough for that," I grumbled as we got out of the car.   
  
Omi just giggled a bit. It was the same every time we came here. "You have been old enough for that for years," he said.   
  
Biting back a retort, I watched him give a hug to the little girl that had come flying out of the house. Another boy just a few years older then her, came out and punched my arm. "How ya doing Oji!" he asked. He was the tease. I narrowed my eyes know that he was just trying to poke at me.  
  
Reaching out and mussing his hair, I grinned. "I'm just fine there chibi. You haven't been bothering them too much now have you?" I asked.  
  
"Hardly." Ken came out to greet us as well, trying to usher the two kids back into the house. The little girl, Eiko, was content with being carried in by her favorite uncle. The troublemaker, Fuwa, rushed inside to make sure that his papa knew that everyone had finally arrived.   
  
Now for those of you who are surprised that Ken and Ran have kids, let me remind you who we're talking about. Ken's always loved kids. They've always been a big part of his life. Why else would he put so much effort into those kiddie soccer teams? It wasn't for the game, that just made it easier for him. No I'm sure that Ken's always wanted to be a dad. He's just that kinda guy. It was Birman that had gone to him after a particularly young husband and wife team had been killed, and told him about Eiko and Fuwa. The two kids had only been one and three at the time. Hardly able to really understand the situtation, but very alone in the world. Rather then send them off to foster care, Birman gave him the option of taking them in himself. Of course he said yes, and before telling Ran too.   
  
That guy would move the sun, the moon and the stars for Ken if he asked, so there had been no question as to what his answer had been. Ran turned out to be a pretty good parent as well. He was firm, but soft when he needed to be. He was very much so loved by those kids, but they knew never to cross him.  
  
You've gotta hand it those ladies though. Manx and Birman still do a damn good job taking care of their boys. Hehe...one of these days we'll figure out how to properly repay them. They seem so content to just give and never recieve in return. Or maybe they do, and its one of those hits ya right in the chest things. I don't know.  
  
Anyways, we headed into the main part of the house, Ken leading the way. The dinning room they had was simple. A low table in an otherwise sparce room. There were cushions enough for the six of us going around the table. The table itself was set and waiting for the food to be brought in from the other room. Which was carefully brought in by Ran and his assistant Fuwa. Italian this evening, and boy was I hungry.  
  
Sitting there with the three other people that had become my family, could easily make me forget for a little while just what it was that we were. We may not be the killers that we once were, but we still worked for the same people. Ken and I still do occassionally get called in for missions that will require a death or two. When we could get together and talk about anything but what it was that we did, it was refreshing. Like a warm shower taking away some of the dirt on your soul. It would never be clean, but as long as you never lost your humanity it would never be black.   
  
"This was great Ran-kun. Arigato!" Omi said, smiling contently.   
  
"Hai!" Eiko squeaked happily from her spot next to Omi.   
  
I chuckled and nodded. "It was good, we appreciate you having us over," I said.   
  
Ken made a face. "Geeze you sound like you're desperate or something guys. There's no need to be so damn formal," he said.   
  
"Youji-kun feeds us frozen food every other day of the week. Its great to have real food," Omi said.   
  
"You could cook sometimes too ya know," I retorted.   
  
Omi shook his head, grinning. "No thank you ai, I think we'd both be safer," he said.  
  
"Before you two decide it'll be fun to just argue like this for the rest of the evening, would you come and help me take care of these dishes Youji. Omi can help Ken get Fuwa and Eiko get in their pjs and settled for the evening," Ran said.  
  
"Awww, Papaaaaaaaaaa. I don't wanna," Fuwa whined, when he heard the dreaded news of bedtime coming soon.   
  
"Just go with them Fuwa and don't whine," Ran said getting up from the table and taking a few of the plates with him. I piled up a few and followed him behind him. I loved getting the easy job. Let Ken and Omi deal with the little bra-I mean kids. I'll just stick to the manual labor.   
  
"How are things going in your division?" Ran asked, making small talk while we washed the dishes.   
  
"Same old same old. There hasn't been anything really big now that Taketori's gone and SZ with him," I commented, taking the wet dishes from him to dry them.  
  
"I think that's the general consensus for now. They're on alert now however. Preventing the same control that SZ managed to get just under their noses," Ran commented.  
  
"Un." It was occuring to me that this was probably not the easy job I had thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, Ran's a great guy, but I don't think we've been able to find that one topic or whatever that we can make a connection with. Other than Ken and the kids, his life completely consisted of his job. That was so not me. Omi and my job were pretty big things, but I liked to think I've got some hobbies on the side. I guess I just don't like to talk about what we do unless we're actually doing it.  
  
He was probably thinking almost the same thing, cause it got quiet from then on in. It was quick and painless however. I dried the last dish and put it in its proper place. Ran stayed in the kitchen to make tea, while I headed back out to the living room to check on the others. I still smile every time I see the picture that I was greeted with as I stood in the living room doorway.   
  
Omi was seated on the couch with Eiko in half of his lap and a book in the other. Fuwa sat down beside him listening intently as their uncle read to them. Ken was seated comfortably with his knees drawn to his chest in the recliner beside them. Omi wore a little smile as he went into great detail about the heroic adventure of the day. He looked so happy like that. It made me wonder if he ever wanted to be a dad too sometimes. I don't think I could do it. I'd be too afraid of messing the kid up. Kids are okay, as long as they aren't your own.   
  
Ran paused behind me for a moment before stepping in before me. He layed out a tray of cookies and tea. It broke the bit of peace that had been formed by the story, but it wasn't bound to last with two young children in the middle of it anyway. I sat down next to Omi, putting an arm around his shoulder and peaking around Eiko's head at the book. Once the two kids were resettled, he continued. Hans Christian Anderson had to have been some sort of genius when he came up with these fairy tales. I don't care how edited those things get just so that they can be put in front of a child. It still shuts them up long enough for you to lose the headache you get from being with them.  
  
That's how we enjoyed our evening. Omi read to the two kids and the rest of us too. He was really pretty good at it. You couldn't help but be interested in the story with the way he put so much feeling into his re-telling. You couldn't like the bad guys, and you could always cheer on those doing good. The kids loved it and that was really what was most important. Though I bet you anything Omi loved it just as much as they did.   
  
"Okay you two, the stories done and its past your bedtime. Give your uncles hugs and kisses goodbye and then its off to bed for you," Ken said getting up from his seat. A stern look was given to Fuwa before he could start complaining. He didn't speak, but he did stomp the whole way over to me frowning for all he was worth.  
  
I raised a brow at him. "Don't give me that look. You've gotta do what your dad says to do. So either take it like the man you're supposed to be or stay with the babies for the rest of you life," I said.  
  
I watched as the thought bounced through his head. His frown turned into a pout and then into a sigh. "Good night Youji-oji," he said before giving me a hug.   
  
I gave him a light squeeze in return. "That's better," I said, before giving him a light push in Omi's direction. Omi was just handing over Eiko to her papa and he turned to give Fuwa his hug too. "Oyasumi Fuwa-kun," he said fondly before nudging him over to follow Ken to bed. Ken and the two kids headed down the hall.   
  
"Thanks again Ran-kun. You really did cook a wonderful meal," Omi said turning back to our former teamate.   
  
"You're always welcome to come by. Eiko and Fuwa love it when you come, and Ken and I do as well. Its not very often we can just simply be social and enjoy ourselves," Ran said getting up from his seat.   
  
"That's true. We've just gotta start making the time for it," I said. I ran a hand through my hair and stood up beside Omi. "If its not gonna happen you've gotta make it happen."  
  
"We'd better get going," Omi commented. He turned to smile at Ran once again. "Next time?"  
  
Ran smiled and nodded. "Come back next week. Same day. Same time," he said.  
  
"Same Bat Channel."   
  
I'm sorry I could not resist. Omi lightly hit my arm and we headed back out to the front door. Omi waved and we got into the car. It was a bit of a ways home and we were starting to get close to eight thirty. It was time to just go home and get comfy and sit and watch a movie or random television with Omi. I liked these days best. He never went back to work until the next day. So I would always have him all to myself for a few hours.  
  
We drove back in a comfortable silence. The radio droned out something pop that Omi liked to listen to. He hummed softly looking out the window at everything that passed by. Me, I just drove. The ride home was always that quiet reflection time for Omi. For me, I just drove.  
  
When we'd finally returned from our month long vacation, I had grinned and scooped Omi up into my arms at the doorway. I always wanted to do the over the threshold thing. Who better to do it with then the one I'd given my heart? He squealed and laughed as I carried him inside and straight to our bedroom. Of course we had good sex then. This is still Kudou Youji we're talking about now. Most importantly though, I got to carry my love across the threshold.   
  
It was a tempting thought as we came up to the door, but I just smiled and unlocked the door. Omi headed straight for the living room while I continued to work on taking off my shoes and putting away our jackets. I could hear him flipping through some of our videos, so I sat down on the sofa and waited for him to decide. He came over a moment later, happily toting the remote.  
  
I let him get comfortable, he sprawled out on the sofa with his head in my lap. That was perfectly fine by me. We watched the video, some anime that he liked. I never really paid attention. I usually ended up paying more attention to him. I'd thread my fingers through his hair and smile down at his profile. Yeah I'm a sap, but I like it that way. I can never get enough of just being there with him and looking at him. This was our time and I didn't want to waste it.  
  
He rolled over onto his back towards the end of the video and looked up at me. Those big blue eyes looked up at me curiously for a moment, before he asked, "What are you thinking about?"  
  
"You," I said, giving him my favorite response. "You look so happy every time we go over there. Would you ever want what Ken and Ran have? Would you like to be a father too?"  
  
"Me? A dad?" he asked, blinking a few times. He paused mulling it over for a bit in his head. "I like Eiko and Fuwa. They're cute kids and all, but I don't think I could do that. I work too much to be a really good father. I couldn't give them all the attention that they'd need." His hand snaked out to take hold of one of my own, threading our fingers together. "What about you?"  
  
"Kids are cute, as long as they aren't yours. I wouldn't even know the first place to start taking care of a kid. They'd probably end up in some sort of mental institute when I was done with them," I said.   
  
Omi just chuckled at the thought. "I doubt that, but I think its safe to say that neither of us are suited to parenthood. You're a good uncle though. You did good with Fuwa telling him to listen to Ken and all," he said.  
  
I shrugged. It didn't seem like a big deal to me. "I just told him to buck up and deal. That's the way the world works and all," I said.  
  
"Sure, but you weren't screaming at him. He does listen to you," Omi pointed out.  
  
I shrugged again. To say I actually believed I had the kid's respect, it just seemed farfetched to me. Kids in general didn't usually seem to like me. Well, every other kid but Ken and Ran's. They did call me Oji-san afterall.  
  
Omi giggled as he watched me go over that in my head. He squeezed my hand and shut off the now finished video. "Come on, time for bed," he said getting up and tugging at the hand he still held for me to follow. There was nothing in this world that would make me ignore such a request. He is the flame and I the moth. I would die a happy death in his embrace.  
  
He's different now. On the outside he's older, no longer wearing the body of the child that he was. He's all long, lean limbs. Hard muscle and not an ounce of the baby fat I remember from so long ago. Inside he's not much different, still mature beyond his years but with that spark of the never dying spirit of a child. He'll always be able to understand them, and they'll always remain a bit of a mystery to me. We've both grown up. My love for him is forever growing. It was something I never thought I'd live to have.  
  
He offered himself to me with sweet kisses and loving caresses. He wrapped his legs around me looking up at me with eyes so blue. I could always see his heart in them. I could never doubt what he feels for me. This was something special, something eternal. Sometimes it would be me offering, wanting to give him more and never finding that right combination to feel that I'd given him everything that he'd given to me. I never had to go without him though. Every night we would lay in our bed, and let sleep take us away. No matter where I would roam, I always would have him with me.   
  
In ten years, nothing really changes. 


End file.
